Slavery may have been temporary, but the effects it left behind are ingrained in our culture and influences the notion that blacks are less than whites. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee reveals the adverse effects of racial prejudice. This story takes place during the Great Depression in a small Alabama town named Maycomb. In this town, one’s skin color determines his social status. One of the main protagonists, Atticus Finch, is against racism in the South and tries to correct the ways of the community by defending a black man named Tom Robinson in court. The theme that racial prejudice is the root of several wrongdoings is supported by character interactions, the culture of the time period, and numerous conflicts throughout the plot.
Instances of character interactions in To Kill a Mockingbird support the idea of wrongdoings originating from racial prejudice. On pages 265 and 266, after seeing how Mr. Gilmer, the prosecuting attorney, was being so condescending and insulting to Tom Robinson in the trial, Dill began to cry from the injustice. “I don’t care one speck. It ain’t right, somehow it ain’t right to do ‘em that way. Hasn’t anybody got any business talkin’ like that - it just makes me sick.” Dill developed a conscience of how blacks were treated as less than whites and how racial prejudice was the cause for that. Atticus’s interaction with the jury also supports the theme. He provided a strong case for the jury and exposed the accuser and accusing witnesses’ of their lies, administering reasonable doubt. In most cases, they would not be able to convict the suspect if there was even a miniscule amount of doubt. However, the jury preferred Tom’s skin color over his attorney’s closing statement - they took advantage of h...
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...criticizing Atticus. Mrs. Dubose’s insults directed towards Atticus as well as blacks had caused Jem to demolish her property. Various conflicts in the plot are commonly caused by racial prejudice.
Use of character interactions, Maycomb’s culture, and numerous conflicts reinforce the notion that racial prejudice is the cause of certain wrongdoings. Jem, Scout, and Dill interact with other people in the community which ultimately results in them finding out about the evils of racial segregation. The culture in Maycomb supported the theme in various manners. Numerous conflicts are encountered throughout the plot that point towards unnecessary segregation. Atticus taught his children not to interpret a person by his skin color but rather based on his actions and his viewpoint. Everyone is equal, and as Scout said: “I think there’s just one kind of folks. Folks.” (304).
Racial prejudice is shown greatly in this novel in Maycomb County. In the court scene in To Kill a Mockingbird there is a black section and a white section, which are segregated. The colored balcony ran along three walls of the courtroom like a second story veranda, and from it we could see everything (Lee 219). That shows an unfair segregation for the blacks because they have to sit in the balcony but the whites don’t. If a white man had committed the crime that Tom Robinson was accused of, the investigation would’ve been much more thorough. “Did you call a doctor, Sheriff?” asked Atticus. “No Sir,” said Mr. Tate (Lee 224). Just because he was a black man, they accused Tom of being guilty just because people said that he was. Although it isn’t directly related to the court scene, it is shown that there is racial prejudice when Tom runs from Mayella Ewell instead of staying so they thought him guilty for that. He would not have dared strike a white woman under any circumstances and expect to l...
...es that despite all the differences humans have, we are really more alike than not. Scout is constantly educated by her Aunt on Maycomb's different folks. She realizes that “there’s just one kind of folks. Folks” (304). Scout has finally become enlightened, a role model that everyone, even Atticus, can aspire to be like.
Tom Robinson is at the stand being questioned by Mr. Gilmer. Dill starts to feel sick because of how Mr. Gilmer is treating Tom. The narrator explains, “Well, Dill,after all he is just a negro” (Lee 266).This piece of evidence shows that prejudice is used as an antagonist in the novel by giving an unfair trial to Tom Robinson. The quote states “he is just a negro,” which shows that the trial is unfair just because of the towns racial views on people of color. The jury is all white and the case is black versus white. The jury is very biased towards the case. The prosecuting lawyers and defending lawyer are giving their closing statements. Atticus ends with a powerful speech that prove Tom is innocent and his views on race. The jury thinks over all the evidence for a long time and come to a verdict. The author of To Kill A Mockingbird quotes, “Guilty...Guilty...Guilty...Guilty…” (Lee 282). This quote shows the jury is very prejudice. There is more than enough evidence to prove Tom did not rape Mayella and that Bob Ewell beat her. Even though there is enough evidence to proves Tom’s innocence the jury’s verdict is guilty just because of their hate and their prejudice towards African Americans. Ultimately, prejudice is being used as an antagonist is very thoroughly shown throughout the entirety of the
A small city nestled in the state of Alabama, Maycomb has got its faults, just like any other place in the world, but one of its main faults or (pg.88) “Maycomb's usual disease,” as Atticus calls it in the book is prejudice. Jem and Scout learn a lot about prejudice when a black man named Tom Robinson is accused of raping a white woman named Mayella Ewell and their father, Atticus, is called on to be his lawyer. They realize the hate that people have buried deep within their heart when they see a black man accused of doing something only because of his color. On pg.241, Scout starts understanding this and thinks, “Atticus had used every tool available to free men to save Tom Robinson, but in the secret courts of men's hearts Atticus had no case. Tom was a dead man the minute Mayella Ewell opened her mouth and screamed.” As the case continues, up until the death of Tom Robinson, Jem and Scout learn more and more about prejudice and how the hate that people have towards others causes them to take wrong actions. They also see how unfair it is that a white man can get treated better and think of himself better than a black man only because he was born white. This prejudice and the trial cause Jem and Scout to get in argum...
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee has become a mainstay in American high-schools. This is a classic novel that has inspired many people of all ages. It had a big impact on how people viewed and treated each other. This is a story that teaches everyone about the value of honesty, love, friendship and trust. Every word written in this book has a truly deep meaning to it. The time period that the book was written in was during the Great Depression in the 1930’s. This setting was in a small town in Maycomb, Alabama with people who did not get along. During this time there was a lot of segregation within America and different races. To Kill a Mockingbird is about a family who believes in doing the right thing and being honest. There was a court case that had gone viral about a black man who raped a white woman. A white lawyer named Atticus Finch gave his all to defend a black man named Tom Robinson. There was no evidence that showed that Tom raped Mayella Ewell and he was convicted guilty because of his color. When a black folk was accused of something they are immediately accused guilty. To Kill a Mockingbird should be taught in American high-schools because it teaches students about segregation/racism, right from wrong, and courage.
Tom Robinson’s trial, and in fact his entire life, was badly affected by racism. It is truly a testament to the corruption of society when a person who has earned a bad reputation is held in higher esteem than a person who was born with it, as is the case with Bob Ewell and Tom Robinson. Even though Tom was obviously honest in his testament, the jury sided with Bob Ewell because he was white. They made this decision despite the fact that the Ewell family was widely known to be a worthless part of society. Jem, not being racially prejudiced, could not understand this mentality. As Atticus pointed out, “If you (Jem) had been on the jury, son, and eleven other boys like you, Tom would be a free man.”
The novel "To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee is a simplistic view of life in the Deep South of America in the 1930s. An innocent but humorous stance in the story is through the eyes of Scout and Jem Finch. Scout is a young adolescent who is growing up with the controversy that surrounds her fathers lawsuit. Her father, Atticus Finch is a lawyer who is defending a black man, Tom Robinson, with the charge of raping a white girl. The lives of the characters are changed by racism and this is the force that develops during the course of the narrative.
“To Kill A Mockingbird” by Harper Lee is a novel set in the 1930s in a racially prejudice town called Maycomb County. A black man is accused of raping a white girl, and although it’s clear that he did not do it, the all white jury refuse to take a black man’s word over a white girl’s. Through the innocent eyes of an eight year old girl, the theme of racial prejudice is developed throughout the novel, although at times she is oblivious to it. In this essay I am going to discuss how Lee develops the theme of racial prejudice in the novel “To Kill A Mockingbird”.
Racism is pervasive throughout the town of Maycomb, Alabama, with nearly the entire population practicing the injustice. These racist acts are apparent in To Kill a Mockingbird through the characters of Bob Ewell and Mrs. Dubose, as well as the jury for Tom Robinson’s case. They dehumanize the blacks arrogantly and ignorantly, believing they are superior due to their skin color, Even though it is an immoral act, the society separates by skin color and the population is forced between either agreeing or disagreeing with this prejudice. In conclusion, racism is a major factor intertwined in the novel, and it is executed excessively even though it is known to be wrong; however, it won’t be altered due to fear of being judged or segregated.
The theme of Harper Lee's To Kill a Mocking Bird is the existence of racism and prejudice in the 1930 – 40's. Harper Lee succeeds in presenting the topic in a manner that is not overly simplistic and thus achieves the task of allowing the reader to fully appreciate the complex nature of unjust discrimination. Harper Lee's inclusion of characters such as Tom Robinson, Boo Radley, Dolphus Raymond and many others, aid the reader to grasp the concept of racism and its central role in the town of Maycomb.
Author Harper Lee discusses the effects of ignorance and the toll it takes on people during the Great Depression in To Kill A Mockingbird. She portrays examples of sexism, prejudice, and racism, within the lives of the poverty-stricken citizens of Maycomb.
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee is widely celebrated due to the novel’s contemporary commentary on racism. Although the novel obviously discusses racist attitudes, it is really about stereotyping. While racism is one the the main focuses, many groups of people in the novel face harsh, inaccurate stereotypes. Women are expected to be “proper” and “ladylike”, African Americans are seen as deceitful and untrustworthy and the mentally handicapped are portrayed as freaks and monsters by the town’s people. Harper Lee not only addresses racism in her novel and the focus may seem to be only about the trial of Tom Robinson, but Lee portrays a deeper understanding of stereotyping as a whole throughout the entire novel.
The novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, tells the story of a nice, kind man named Atticus Finch who has to defend a black man wrongly prosecuted for this crime. The main characters are scout who you see the whole story through her eyes and Atticus who the whole conflict of the story is base around. The book takes place in Alabama in the 1930’s during the Great Depression. The story is really about the life of the Finch’s when they are put up with the conflict of Atticus having to a black man, which in the time period was not socially acceptable to anyone in the town. In the book Lee reveals the injustice of racism through the Tom Robinson case. This theme appears in the novel when Atticus is giving is closing statements, when Scout
The citizens of maycomb country show social prejudice by the unjustified attitude towards an individual based on the individual's membership in a family or group. When Jem observes scout on the bed she says, “There’s four kinds of folks in the world. There’s the ordinary kind like us and the neighbors, there’s the kind like the Cunninghams out in the woods, the kind like the Ewells down at the dump, and the Negroes”(374). The statement that Jem says about the separation of herself and the neighbors with the Cunninghams, Ewells, and the Negroes, shows the social prejudice of the town of maycomb. The age that children think that shows that the social diversity of people in maycomb is awful. Lastly, when Atticus is speaking with a finch he states, “You, Miss Scout Finch, are the common folk. You must obey the law.” He said that the Ewells were members of an exclusive society made up of Ewell's. In certain circumstances the common folk judiciously allowed them certain privileges by the simple method of becoming blind to some of the Ewells’
An analysis of The Great Depression shows connections to the novel, “To Kill a Mockingbird” and today’s society through prejudice, poverty, and racism shown throughout the novel.